Constitutional status recommended for judge appointment panel

A parliamentary committee has recommended that constitutional status be given to a proposed panel for appointment and transfer of judges of the higher judiciary so that its composition cannot be altered through an ordinary legislation.

The report of parliamentary standing committee on law and justice and personnel, on the Judicial Appointment Commission bill, also said that the judicial accountability bill should be taken up at the earliest.

“None of the democratic countries in the world has the mechanism where judges are appointing themselves,” Shantaram Naik, who heads the parliamentary committee, told reporters after the report was tabled in parliament Monday.

“If the government wants, the bill can be passed in this session,” he said.

Naik also added that the committee observed that the bill “did not seek restoration of pre-1993 position”.

The committee also recommended that the bar association members should be given opportunity to apply directly for judicial posts, and a separate state-level JAC appoint and transfer judges of the 24 high courts.

State-level commissions have also been recommended to lessen burden of the main commission.